Burr-Feinstein backdoor bill would strangle app industry

Today, Senators Burr and Feinstein released a draft bill requiring tech companies to create a government backdoor to every secure application or connected device.

“The Burr-Feinstein bill makes broad, worrisome presumptions about the tech industry,” said Morgan Reed, executive director of ACT | The App Association. “The proposed legislation would be ineffective in reaching its goals, and instead turn app distribution platforms into choke points for the successful mobile app ecosystem that Americans depend on every day.

“We cannot continue to see growth and innovation if distributors must make sure every app can be cracked by the government. This is a nonstarter. Solutions to this problem can be met by improving the tools law enforcement has to effectively use the enormous amounts of data made available to them every day.

“Additionally, the compensation mechanisms in this bill do not adequately represent the innovation economy where people don’t work for hourly wages, but on the hope to create a product that changes the world.”